Taking Everything Into Account

As the holiday season rolls in, I’m reminded of two things:
1. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 😀
2. The yearly financial reports are due for the ministry. ☹️

Yes, every fall I navigate through a painful maze created by the IRS for all tax-exempt organizations. They call it “Form 990.” I call it 35+ pages of annual perplexity. Each page seems designed for maximum bewilderment. There are even areas that have instructions for the instructions! You gotta love government red tape. They take everything into account.

Immersed in a sea of numbers every year, I long for an easier agenda with fewer itemizations. But then I stop and gaze at the desk overflowing with papers. I glance at the expanding spreadsheet on the computer — and I remember that everything I’m looking at is visible proof of God’s work in progress!

There are orders, supplies, donations, shipping totals, office expenses… costs for computer software, internet servers, and web / app platforms that enable the GCM website to reach Christians around the world. What a blessing to be a part of such an active outreach! How sad would it be if this ministry’s annual report took only a few minutes to fill out, with little progress or potential to document?

Then another thought hits me: what if Christians were required to submit a similar annual report of their own spiritual activity? What would “Form 990-RR” or “Form 990-__” (insert your own initials) look like? As the end of 2023 draws near, what contributions have we made to God this past year, both financially and physically? Taking everything into account, has our time, energy, and money been used in productive and upright ways for the Lord? Or would most of our expenses be filed as, "For personal use only"?

It’s a great question to reflect on. Would filling out my personal “Spiritual 990” be a time-consuming job with hundreds of items to report, or would it take just a few minutes to complete?

Romans 12:11 - Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

- Ron Reid